Unavoidable
by Sorceress Myst
Summary: Fayt tells Nel a secret that sends her to do the unthinkable to Albel. Now she is in a confused state of mind as she tries to avoid the man she mistakenly kissed...or was it a mistake? Alnel, pure and simple from the 4th dimension.
1. Unavoidable

Well, this was an unexpected delight. After I finished another fic I've been working on, I was forced to watch Shrek 2 for the 50th time with the relatives and somehow got an idea from it…it all started with Fayt and Maria wanting to make a sequel to Shrek so they got Nel to play the Fairy Godmother. Nel had to promise not to tell the others that she was going to be in the movie, but one day Albel got curious and followed her to the set. Fayt and Maria caught him and forced him to be apart of the cast otherwise they'd tell Nel that he likes her. So Albel reluctantly agreed and was forced to play the role of….Puss in Boots. Yes, this was utterly ridiculous, but some of the romance scenes I thought of during the madness were pretty good, so I dropped all the Shrek 2 stuff and put the romantic scenes in a whole new setting and in a less insane plot. Here is the result:

…But before I let you go read it, I should mention that I don't own SO3 or any of its characters…BUT I WILL WHEN I TAKE OVER THE WORLD AND LET LOR OWN SQUARE-ENIX FOR SHE IS MY MINION! (author slaps herself) Sorry, dreadful habit that I'm still trying to drop…Enjoy the fic!

Unavoidable

"**_What!_**"

Fayt flinched from the tone in the red haired Aquarian's voice. True Sophia and even Cliff had begged him not to ask her, but it was an emergency. He was so close to winning in the rank battles in the battle arena in Gemity and he needed help from Airyglyph's best swordsman. But to get Albel to help he needed to convince him to miss his single battle for it. The only way to get him to listen was to get Nel to do the convincing. Why Nel? It was because she was the Wicked One's only known weakness due to the annoyingly considerable affection he held for her. It was adorable to the girls, hilarious to the other men, but annoying for Albel.

So the problem was to convince Nel to convince Albel. Explaining the problem was the easy part, it was the requesting that became the problem.

"Please? He won't listen to anyone else," Fayt begged as he attempted puppy dog eyes. Unfortunately for Fayt, Roger had long since abused the look and earned no reaction from Nel.

"What makes you think he'll listen to me?" she asked with a roll of the eyes.

"Because he likes you," he blurted out without thinking. That was supposed to be a secret because knowing Albel, he would : 1. want to tell her himself and 2. destroy all who knew about it. The Aquarian's eyes nearly bugged out as she took a few involuntary steps away from the group's obviously insane leader.

"**_What?_**" she repeated, even louder and twice as shocked.

"He's head over heels, madly in love with you! He'll listen to anything you say even though he might not do it, but the chances of him agreeing to fight in my team are higher with you than if I asked him myself," Fayt pleaded, knowing that Albel was going to murder him for this. They had already gotten away with teasing him about his crush, but letting out the secret was a one way ticket to the underworld.

"We are still talking about Albel, right? You know _Albel the Wicked_?" she inquired nervously, earning a shrug from the young leader.

"He's still human and besides, you're his type."

"His type?" she echoed, a little outraged, "How am I his type? We used to be enemies and don't forget that we constantly tried to kill each other!"

"…You have a lot of things in common," he persisted before Nel really got offended.

"Do I kill random things when I'm upset or yell at people when they try to help?"

"Yes," Fayt muttered under his breath and then added in a louder voice, "Well, you both had famous fathers who died in action and you both are in high positions in the army."

"Still…I refuse to believe that someone like Albel could ever fall in love."

She seemed to be calming down as Fayt quickly thought of what to say next to get her to cave in, "Okay fine, then let's just say he has a lot of respect for you, after all, you're the only one he calls by name, everyone else is called by his three favorite words."

"How about I help, I'll join the team," she offered as Fayt thought it over.

He couldn't exactly say that Albel was better than Nel, but he had been training more than she had. Still, Nel was a lot nicer than the Glyphian, "…Sure, if you want to join, then Cliff and I are glad to have you."

"So what is the name of your team?"

"Onward! Defrosted Tuna Team," there was a slight pause, "…it was Peppita's idea."

Nel only stared at him blankly before she turned and walked away, "I'll see what I can do about convincing Albel."

"Thanks!" he called out to her retreating form.

* * *

At the hotel in Gemity, Nel paced in front of Albel's room as she thought over how to ask him. Talking to him wasn't that hard, he had the attention span of a toddler so she needed to get the point out quickly. She had also learned that if she could successfully counter his insults, then it was certain that he would listen. Unfortunately such a task was difficult because his words easily shattered her self-restraint and made her angry. There was something about the way he'd say her name that set her on the edge and before she could decipher what the feeling was, he would say something rude and catch her off guard. It was unnerving and it always resulted in her wanting to wring his neck. Needless to say, they _will_ get into an argument soon. 

But that wasn't what was keeping her from knocking on his door. It was what Fayt told her. Albel was…_in love with her_? It couldn't be true! Fayt must have been desperate and said the first thing that came to mind. For all she knew, he could have said that Cliff was in love with her. …But what if it was true? Would Albel ask for something in return if he gave into her request? And what would that something be? A kiss? Or maybe something more than that? Wait, it was Fayt's request so he shouldn't want anything from her. Oh, what was she worrying for? Fayt couldn't be right! With that in mind, she raised her fist to knock…

The match was beginning in thirty minutes so Albel needed to leave to prepare. He grabbed his katana and headed out the door only to find Nel about to knock as the door hissed open. Their eyes locked together for a brief moment, both surprised, before Albel stepped back into a relaxed slouch. What was she doing here? Nel was a little hesitant to say anything, almost afraid to break the silence. Or maybe it was because she had no clue what to say.

"…I-"

"What are you doing here, Zelpher?" he barked, quickly getting impatient, but rather happy to see her even though he would never admit that. Even if she hadn't appeared before him, he had planned to search for her later. Getting a rise out of the Aquarian was enough to amuse him and gave him enough of a drive for battle.

It was now or never, the Crimson Blade thought with a sigh, "I have a favor to ask of you."

She quickly realized that it didn't come out right as Albel let out an evil smirk. She made it sound like _she_ was desperate for _his_ help, "W-well actually, it's Fayt who is requesting the favor."

"That fool? Why doesn't he come here and ask himself?" the Wicked One replied as his smirk turned into a carefully disguised disappointed frown.

"_Because he's afraid you'll say 'no'"_ Nel thought with a wry grin before saying out loud, "He probably wanted me to explain it to you slowly since he can't break away from using big words."

That earned her a dark scowl. He certainly isn't acting any different than before, he's acting like his usual 'I hate all of you maggots' self, leaving Nel to believe that Fayt was just making the crush thing up. But…she did recall that other people tried to ask him something only to have a door slammed in their face without him hearing them out. It was probably because she figured out his tendencies or maybe Fayt was on to something when he said that Albel respected her.

"Bah, what is his request?"

"He wants you to join his team in the rank battles and help them get to the top of the list," she answered, hoping that he hadn't heard the team name yet.

"You mean that team with the ridiculous name? I'll pass."

So he had heard of it, but she wasn't going to let the team's lousy name stop her from winning this persuasive argument, "Really? I thought the team name wouldn't matter to you as long as you get a good fight in the competition."

"Hmph, then why don't _you_ go fight with them?"

"Uh…" Well she couldn't tell him it was because of the team name, not after what she told him so far. Unfortunately, he caught the reluctant look on her face and figured it out quickly.

"That's what I figured," he said smugly as he crossed his arms, "Besides, I have a match coming up in the single battles, I don't have time to play with the fools."

Whether he knew it or not, he fell into a trap as Nel faced away from him with a smirk of her own, "You mean the single battle competition that even _Roger_ won?"

Albel froze before he faced another way, "The maggot cheated."

"Even so, the mere fact that Roger even won must tell you something about the competition. Is the oh-so-terrible Albel the Wicked going to stoop so low as to fight the weakest teams in the Battle Arena?"

Suddenly Nel found his good hand fisted in her shirt and her face just mere centimeters away from his. His breath was warm on her face as he growled in a low tone, "Just what are you implying, Zelpher?"

She felt her stomach lurch when he said her name and she was suddenly very aware at how close he was holding her. She struggled to maintain her smirk and looked him straight in the eye before bringing up her hand to his chest to get him off of her.

"I'm just saying, why not drop out of the final battle and help Fayt take on monsters more in your league?" That had to hit a mark, there was no way she was going to lose now.

"Bah, why should I give up my match to go help those worthless worms?" his features didn't look any less stubborn than before. She still hadn't gotten through to him. Nel let out a sigh and placed a hand on her forehead for the incoming headache. Suddenly she froze as an idea came to her, but if she used it, then she would have to hope Fayt was telling the truth. If he wasn't, then her next move would be pointless and she would look like (as Albel had said so many times) a fool.

Albel resisted the urge to back away in shock as her lips pouted and she gave him pleading eyes. What was this? Some Aquarian trick? It's bad enough that she made him want to pin her against the wall and kiss her senseless when she's angry, but this…this was worse. He suddenly felt compelled to do what ever she wanted, his hand and claw twitched slightly as he crushed down the desire to grab her and hold her to his body. He refused to cave in to this. He wasn't going to let her order him around!

"Please Albel, it would mean a lot for Fayt, not to mention the challenge you'll get from fighting the top five teams."

"F-fine, I'll do it," he blurted out before his eyes widened. That was not what he had wanted to say! Nel hid her surprise when she detected a gentle shade of red burning his cheeks. He couldn't possibly be blushing!

"Really? You'll do it?" she asked, successfully keeping her relief and excitement (from finding out she had a way to control him) out of her voice.

"Don't put too much into it, I'm not doing this for you or those maggots. …I just want to see if the worms they will be fighting are as tough as everyone says," he said quickly to cover up his sudden slip.

"Thank you, Albel."

If it were possible, Albel's cheeks would have reddened more, but he wasn't some sentimental sap like their foolish leader. He shook off her gratitude and started walking away. After a few steps, he realized that he had no clue where the maggots were. The rank battles were held in a different part of the Battle Arena, a place he'd never been, but he wasn't going to ask the Aquarian behind him. He stopped and turned around only to find that she had followed him. But that was not what made him irritated, it was because her arms were crossed and she had an all-knowing grin on her face.

"You do realize that rank battles are being held in the opposite direction?"

"Of course I do," he growled as he brushed past her to head in the correct direction. Both of them held in shivers when their arms brushed against each other. Albel took five steps before glancing back at her, "You coming?"

She was shocked out of her smug grin at his offer. His voice wasn't filled with malice, it wasn't threatening at all. It was an invitation, there was even a gentle tug at the corners of his mouth that resembled a small smile rather than a wicked grin. Suspicion quickly filled her mind. He had to be up to something! She knew she shouldn't jump to conclusions about him trying to stab her in the back. After all, they weren't enemies anymore, but old habits die hard. True, she knew he wasn't after her blood anymore, but he was still after her temper. He seemed to like angering her before battles as if it were some hobby. Well she wasn't going to make it easy for him this time.

"Why? Afraid you'll get lost?" she inquired in a sweet sounding tone, making his features harden into a scowl.

"I know my way, woman and even if I didn't, I wouldn't need _your_ help…Are you coming or not?" He was starting to get impatient and began walking again, but at a slower pace so she could catch up if she wanted to.

"_It sounds to me like you need my help,"_ she thought as she followed after him, thinking that it was his way to cover up the fact that he was enlisting her help. She wasn't going to help him find his way unless he asked and watching him get lost was bound to be amusing. Not a word passed their lips as he effortlessly found his way to the correct stadium where the rank battles were being held.

So maybe he _did_ know the way or it was dumb luck. Nel stared at the dark warrior's back as they traveled through the stadium to the waiting rooms. If he really didn't need her help, then why did he ask her to accompany him? He didn't like anyone's presence unless they were useful for some task. It wasn't long before they caught sight of Fayt and Cliff or rather Cliff spotted them first.

"Hey!" the Klausian shouted as he waved his arms over the crowd, "So I see the young lady has persuaded you. What? Are you wrapped around her finger now?"

"Shut up, maggot," Albel sneered as he glared daggers at him, "Hmph. Why _did_ I bother to come here? I could just leave now and still make it to my match."

Fayt's eyes widened before he elbowed Cliff in the side, "You don't have to. He'll shut up, I promise!"

"Hey!"

"Feh." Albel rolled his eyes and turned away, "Whatever fool. When is this thing starting anyway?"

The blue haired leader allowed a relieved smile to break out as he realized that Albel was going to stay, "In ten minutes."

Fayt mouthed 'thank you' to Nel before walking off with the others to go prepare. Nel sighed as she realized her job was done, but just as she was about to leave, Cliff stopped and looked back at her.

"Hey, Nel are you going to stay and watch? We could use a cheerleader in the stands!"

"I'm not quite sure what a 'cheerleader' is, but I guess I'll watch…it's not like I have anything better to do."

"Whoa, that response was all…Albel like," Cliff commented before Fayt hissed at him to be quiet. He didn't want Albel to get upset again. Even Nel had to admit how Albelish she had sounded just then, but couldn't help it. It was the truth, she really didn't have anything better to do. She had already competed in the single battles and fought in the team battles with Maria and Sophia. She even went with Sophia to the bunny races after that until she was bored to tears.

"What I mean to say is that I would love to go see your competition, good luck," she said quickly as Albel stared at her bemused.

"Nice try," Cliff replied with a sly smile, "But I think you've been hangin' around Albel too much that you're turning into him. …The last thing we need is another- Hey!"

Fayt quickly elbowed Cliff yet again so he wouldn't finish his sentence, "Jeez, how does Mirage put up with you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"…Onward! Defrosted Tuna Team, please report to the arena. Once again, Onward! Defrosted Tuna Team, report to the arena. Thank you." A voice called out, making the two men cease in their argument.

"That's us," Fayt called out before running off with Cliff to the place where the voice sounded. Albel watched them go with a bored expression before he slowly moved his feet to go follow them. Suddenly, some unexplained reflex made Nel reach out to stop him.

"What do you want now?" he grumbled as he stared into her startled features. She didn't even know why she had grabbed him nor had she any idea what she wanted to say, but it didn't matter because her next action surprised them both. She jumped up to give him a quick peck on the cheek. The expression on his face was priceless when she pulled away. His eyes were wide and his mouth was partly open before a light shade of pink adorned his cheeks.

Thinking quickly, Nel tried to come up with an excuse for her actions before he was pulled out of his daze, "I-it's for good luck. Maria told me people do that to wish someone good luck."

She half expected him to blow up at her and tell her to keep her distance from him, but instead he slowly brought his fingers up to the place where her lips were. Nel backed away nervously, inching towards the exit, when his eyes focused on her again.

"I don't need luck," he muttered as he trailed after her with an unfamiliar gleam in his eyes. Nel's heart was beating frantically in her chest and her face was beet red when he towered over her body and brought his face closer to hers.

"O-of course not," she agreed as she tried to move away again, but he had wrapped his hand around her wrist to prevent her from getting far.

"Hey hotshot! It's time for battle! Get over here or we'll fight without you!" Cliff called in the background, making the Glyphian pull away, almost reluctantly. Nel's breathing returned to normal as he walked away without so much as a word or a glance towards her. Why did she do that? And why did she want to run over to him and wrap her arms around his slender frame?

Her feet began moving of their own accord towards the exit where the crowds were lining up to get into the stadium. She wandered almost in a daze as her mind tried to explain what had happened. She knew she didn't like him let alone was attracted to him in any way to want to do that…or did she? Maybe it wasn't her doing this. Cliff had been playing around with potions when they last visited her homelands so maybe he had slipped her some kind of potion that made her act strange toward the people she hated. …Wait…she didn't hate Albel, but she did dislike him, didn't she? What _was_ there to like about him? He was rude, heartless, bloodthirsty, and had an attitude that could match Crosell's temper. He was strong and very thin, but his body was all muscle. She actually kind of liked his hair. It was long, black at the top and ended with blonde at the tips, and his two braids…she always wanted to untie those and play with the long blonde locks. And those eyes that held such a brilliant ruby color…she could get lost in those eyes…

Nel blinked. What was she thinking about? Her errant thoughts certainly were rebellious today, she could have sworn that she actually _was_ attracted to him. When her eyes finally focused on the line, she realized that she wasn't going to get in. Apparently Onward! Defrosted Tuna Team had suddenly become the crowd favorite in the battle arena. There was barely enough seats for everyone.

"Hey Nel!" a voice near the front of the line called out. Nel soon found a girl with long blue hair and an energetic brunette trying to get her attention before yet another girl, who was shorter than the rest, ran towards her and pulled her by the arm.

"You're here to see the fight right?" Peppita asked as she pulled the Aquarian to the others, "Get in line with us otherwise you'll have to forget it!"

"Ooh, will you sit next to me miss?" Roger inquired excitedly as he suddenly appeared from behind Sophia's legs. Peppita narrowed her eyes before she grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled it over his head. The 'ladies man' had previously asked Peppita out and now had ruined his chance by trying to flirt with Nel.

"So you guys are here to see the fight too?" Nel wondered, completely ignoring the Menodix. Sophia shrugged and tossed a stray lock of her hair back.

"Yeah, it should be pretty exciting to see Fayt make it to the top."

"Plus, once they are done playing around, we can go to this Sphere Corporation and meet that Blair person Flad was talking about. …Although I guess this fight may prove useful. After all we may find some tough opponents ahead of us and this would be good training," Maria explained.

Nel only nodded before the gates opened to let the crowd in. The girls and the Menodix managed to snag good seats in the front as the lights dimmed down for the next battle. First out was the opponent Tornado before the gates opened to reveal Fayt, Cliff, and Albel.

"WOO! GO FAYT! SHOW THEM WHAT'S WHAT!" Sophia cheered joyfully, earning amused grins from Nel and Maria. Maria's gaze soon shifted from Sophia to Fayt before her smile softened and a small blush appeared on her cheeks.

"Yeah, if I were down there, then I'd really give the ladies something to scream about," Roger bragged as he examined his nails.

Peppita rolled her eyes, "Suuuuure you would! They'd be screaming 'It's a rat!' and flee for their lives!"

The battle began before Roger could make a retort and the crowd went wild as Fayt's team promptly wiped the floor with Tornado. Soon after that was Knights of the Bloody Sword. While Fayt and Cliff took care of their opponents in their own rhythmic style, all of Nel's attention was focused on Albel as he gracefully dodged all the attacks and countered attacked in several swift, deadly strikes. His fighting was like an age old dance that was horrifying yet beautiful all the same. He had the look of absolute joy in his eyes as his enemies fell by his blade, although they were only going though simulated death. He…seemed so comfortable in battle, like it was his 'happy place' as Sophia would put it. It was no wonder why he was named 'the Wicked', he was a true warrior and had no qualms about taking other people's lives, but there must be a redeeming side to him. Sure, he was only named Albel the Wicked because of the way he fought against her people. Aquarians gave him that name. But what if she were born a Glyphian and fought on their side? Would Albel still seem like a heartless, bloodthirsty monster from a Glyphian point of view?

Now that she thought about it, Albel must be loyal to his people, especially his king because if he really didn't care about them, then he'd go off and fight whomever he pleased whether they'd be Aquarian or Glyphian. After all, despite the rumors, she had never witnessed him kill his own comrades, though he _did_ do nothing to help his subordinate, Shelby. And speaking of Shelby, right after they had defeated him, Albel had let them go, no fights, a few threats, and a lot of insults, but he really did nothing to stop them from leaving, proving that he did have a sense of honor. He also wasn't as …mindless as she had first thought. Fighting wasn't always his answer to everything, he actually did have strategies and used them often whether it was getting what he wanted to avoiding the others in odd conversations to taking out as few people as possible in small border clashes between the two kingdoms. And of course, from stories she had heard of Glou Nox, it would be logical for someone like Albel to be searching for fights just to get stronger. He's now living for his father because Glou sacrificed his life for him.

Thinking this way did make a lot of sense to her now because before, she couldn't figure out for the life of her how the people of Airyglyph could speak so highly of him when he would only sneer at them for being weaklings. She was so mesmerized by the way he fought and her new realizations that she hadn't noticed that they had long since defeated Knights of the Bloody Sword and had just now conquered Knights of the Sacred Beasts. Their next challenge, the team known as Demon Lords, was being summoned as Fayt and Cliff absorbed the cheers of the crowds. Albel only cast dull eyes over the screaming fans until they landed upon Nel. Suddenly he had that look he had while he was in battle, but it was slightly different from before. A slow wicked grin appeared on his lips when their eyes locked on to each other. They only stared at each other until the Demon Lords made their flamboyant entrance into the arena and began the battle.

Nel's heart was pounding wildly in her chest for no reason at all when eye contact was broken. He was staring at her so intensely with a predatory look in his eye that she could have sworn he was going to run over and tackle her in front of everyone. She should have felt disgusted or angry at how he was staring at her, but instead felt …she didn't even know how she felt. Her own heartbeat was loud enough to drown the sounds around her, her limbs felt numb, she felt lightheaded, the air around her seemed hotter, and her insides felt as heavy as lead. Was this…fear? Was she afraid of Albel? No, she had felt fear before during points in her life on the battlefield, this was different. She had never felt like this before…

"Nel are you okay?" a gentle voice asked as a cool hand pressed up against her forehead, "You don't look so good…and your face is all red."

"No it's…all red and beautiful…and it's not a skirt," she replied dreamily in a rather disoriented way

Sophia slowly pulled her hand away gave the Crimson Blade an unsure look, "…Uh yeah…I hate it when that happens?"

The Aquarian jolted as if she had awakened and found that she couldn't see straight. She had to spend a few minutes trying to blink the stars out of her eyes before her body seemed to go back to normal. What _was_ that? Was she ill? She was soon aware of the worried glances her friends were casting at her and quickly told them that she was okay and didn't need anyone to escort her to her room. Once the others were satisfied, she moved her attention back to the fight and found that they were fighting someone else. …The Dragoon Knights? What happened to Demon Lords? How long was she out of it?

They were all slightly injured from the previous battle and it didn't seem like they were going to cure themselves anytime soon. Cliff continued to pound his way through while Fayt or Albel stopped to cast a spell every now and then. They seemed to be doing well until Fayt prepared to cast a spell and one of the enemies started charging straight for him. Suddenly Albel was there to take the blow for him while driving his katana into the knight's exposed neck. There was now a gash in Albel's side that was bleeding heavily, but before Fayt could cast a healing spell on him, he quickly grabbed some berries out of his item bag. That was enough to allow him to continue, but not heal him completely. It was a rather peculiar trait of his, he never wanted anyone to cure him, unless it was Nel, but she always figured it was because she'd always insist on curing him to the point where he would give up and allow it.

Even now Fayt's words echoed though her mind, "_He's head over heels, madly in love with you!"_ When she had first heard it, she didn't believe it. She didn't _want_ to believe it. It was impossible to believe that the captain of the Black Brigade could even hold such feelings, but now…it was still impossible to believe it and yet she wished it were true. Albel wouldn't be capable of romance. He wouldn't do anything nice for anyone he liked, like give them flowers or take them on romantic dates. It was evident, however, that he was capable of passion from how he had looked at her moments ago. She could see him being possessive and protective over someone. If he did held feelings for her, she would expect passionate and private kisses and hot nights in bed, but no gentle caressing or him telling her that he loved her. In a way, Nel could get used to that, she was never one for sappy romances either.

Before another thought could cross her mind, Onward! Defrosted Tuna Team was victorious over the Dragoon Knights, making them the number one team in the rank battle competition. But before they could get out of the arena, the host suddenly announced that they had received a challenge from the retired champions of the arena. All the fans were in for a surprise when the host, Dima Hamilton herself came out along with the commenter Solon Solute. When the battle began, the two certainly proved that they were strong, but it didn't seem fair that they challenged Fayt and the others without letting them tend to their injuries first. Still Onward! Defrosted Tuna Team came out victorious and Nel soon found herself back in the waiting room congratulating Cliff and Fayt on their victory. She would have congratulated Albel as well but he was no where to be seen. Then again, with the way she had been reacting to Albel, she didn't think she could look him in the eye, let alone speak with him. But still, where could he have gone? No one had seen him leave the arena and she definitely wasn't going to ask Fayt or Cliff.

Eventually, Fayt pulled her away from the others to inform her of the man she couldn't get out of her thoughts, "Um, I'm sure you saw the wound that was inflicted upon Albel, right?"

"Yeah. Is he okay?" she asked, hoping she didn't sound too concerned. It's not like a mere flesh wound could bring him down…but he was bleeding heavily from it…and it could get infected…

"Well, he acts like he's okay, but I heard that one of the Dragoon Knights had a poison coated sword and well…It's nothing that an aquaberry or an antidote spell couldn't fix, but you know how he is."

"Hmm, I see…where can I find him?" Not that she was too worried about him of course, she just needed to make sure that Albel was going to live to fight another day.

"He's in there." He jabbed his thumb at a door behind him. Nel nodded and proceeded to head towards the door, but when she looked back to see if Fayt was following her, she found that he had disappeared.

She was hoping to have someone come with her because she wasn't too keen on the idea of going to see Albel alone. Not after how he'd been acting lately. Still she urged her body forward when the metal door hissed open and searched for him. She may have not wanted to see him any time soon, but something was making her care about his well being. What was it? Could it be that she was madly in love with him too? The thought made her freeze in place. No it couldn't be that, Albel was her comrade, she has to care about him just like she cares about everyone else. Never mind the fact that they used to be enemies.

There didn't seem to be anyone around as she slowly walked around the wall of small metal doors and around the wooden benches. What was this place anyway? There was a sign on the front door, but she didn't understand what it meant. It had said 'Men's Locker Room'. She understood 'room' and 'men's' but what were 'lockers'? Suddenly she heard water being shut off and a tall sender figure appeared from the mist that was billowing out of another room adjacent to one she was currently in. Standing before her, clad in only a towel was Albel. She trained her eyes on the large gash across his side to prevent her gaze from exploring the trim muscles of his abdomen or his bare chest.

The injury in question was cleaned and seemed to have stopped bleeding, but the skin around it was starting to turn green. Nel shook her head slowly, despite the situation. Albel continued to head toward one of the benches while keeping his eyes on her. He didn't say anything, not even a 'What are you doing here, Zelpher?' or the usual 'I don't need your help, leave me alone' speech he always started with when he needed healing. His expression didn't show anger, disgust, or the rare amused look he made when getting a rise out of her, it was just neutral, but his eyes did appear to be deep in thought. Nel crossed her arms and shifted her weight to the other leg. She was used to silence from this man during the journey, but now she felt like she was going to go crazy under the heavy pressure it was creating.

"…So I see you got hurt," she eventually said just to break the silence. Albel didn't respond, leaving her to think that he hadn't heard her, but when she opened her mouth to repeat herself, he cut her off with, "Are you going to cure me or just stare at me all day?"

"What? Not going to put up a fight this time?" she inquired to cover her surprise.

This time he let out a dark chuckle as he carefully sat down on a nearby bench, "I guess not."

The tone of his voice was unsettling and every instinct told her to run away and yet something inside her felt excited as her body began to heat up. She cautiously approached him. Nel circled the bench and sat down next to him so she was facing him. Albel didn't make any sudden moves as she raised her hand above the gaping wound and summoned her runological powers to first purify the poison and then close the gash. Once the gentle light green symbols disappeared into the newly formed skin, her hand continued to hover over the area. Perhaps she was waiting for him to mutter a thanks and then tell her to leave, because she didn't know why she hadn't pulled away yet. How soft was his skin anyway? Her sudden curiosity got the better of her as her fingers inched closer to his body…

Nel nearly jumped out of her own skin in shock when Albel's good hand grabbed her wrist. It took all her years of training not react as he held her hand before him like he was inspecting her hand. She forced herself to look away when she felt her face heat up and when her heart began pounding in her chest. What was he doing? And why hasn't she pulled away yet? Why was her body reacting to him like this? She stifled a gasp when she felt something cold pressing up against her palm and glanced back to find him tracing the contours of her palm with his left hand. It was then that she noticed he wasn't wearing his claw.

So this was what's left of Albel the Wicked's arm, a finely crafted metal arm that works like a real one. She watched in awe as he continued to trace her hand like a little child trying to figure out where the magic came from. She had never seen him without his claw before, it almost seemed like a privilege to see him without it.

"Why did you do it?" he suddenly asked, startling her out of her thoughts. Her brow furrowed slightly. Was he talking about his cut she just healed?

"What do you mean? I had to do something otherwise you would have died from-"

"Not that," he snapped, "Why did you kiss me?"

All the words died on her tongue. How was she supposed to answer that? _She_ didn't even know why she had kissed him and it was obvious that he wasn't going to believe the 'good luck' excuse. Nel took a deep breath and tried to get the air back into her lungs since it had been knocked out of her only seconds ago. The only thing she could do was tell the truth, but something told her that he wouldn't believe that either.

"I-I don't know. It just …_happened_…almost like it was the right thing to do," she finished quietly. Time seemed to stop as she waited for his response, but she never did get one. Just as she turned to look at him, his left hand took her wrist and pulled her closer to him. He then brushed his right hand across her stomach and rested it at the swell of her hip as he leaned his face over hers.

"Don't know, eh? Then I guess you won't know how to react to this," he muttered near her lips, his hot breath sending shivers down her spine. She could easily feel the heat radiating off of his body even before when she was approaching him earlier. How did she get into such a situation? Before today, she never thought twice about Albel save for the times she felt the need to reprimand him for his rude behavior to others. Now she was struggling to make sense of her feelings for him while being trapped in his arms and with his lips hovering over hers. And, of course, she couldn't forget that he was pretty much naked except for that blasted towel that seemed to be dipping lower and lower off of his waist! She knew that her face must be completely red by now and that Albel could clearly see it, but didn't care as she felt the urge to press her body against his and…

"Hey, is everything all right in there?" a voice called out from the front entrance. Nel glanced at the wall of lockers that separated them from the intruder's vision. She wasn't sure if she was relieved that Fayt decided to check up on them or completely frustrated that Albel would have to pull away. Suddenly she could hear footsteps coming closer to them and noticed that Albel wasn't going to move. She tried to push him off her, but he smirked and refused to budge.

"Uh, yeah! Everything is fine! We'll be out in a few minutes," she called out, not feeling one bit guilty about shouting in his face. He was the one who refused to move. The approaching footsteps ceased and then started walking away.

"Okay, I just came in to let you know that Dima and Solon are throwing a banquet for us in the hotel lobby." Fayt's voice started fading away as he went past the doorway, "I'll wait for you guys."

When they heard the door close, Nel focused her attention back to Albel. Her mind blanked out and her eyes rolled to the back of her head when he quickly captured her lips in a searing kiss that sent little shockwaves through her body. Albel pulled away before she could respond to it. He then proceeded to let go of her and stood up to go retrieve his clothes. She was too stunned to move, but her eyes managed to follow his every move and watched every muscle flex as his hands began removing the towel. Suddenly she was aware that he was going to get dressed in front if her without caring if she was there or not. Despite how hard it was tearing her eyes away from him, she stood up and began heading towards the exit to give him some privacy.

Before she could disappear from his sight, he had one more thing to tell her, "I want to talk to you later…alone."

She didn't give any confirmation that she heard him as she rushed out of the locker room and passed Fayt who was leaning against a nearby wall. The blue haired boy could only watch as the Elicoorian nearly ran out the door, offering no explanation to her sudden departure. Nel kept moving forward when she reached the hotel, pausing once at the archway that led to the hotel's lobby. She briefly thought about going, but then decided that she needed some time alone to sort out her thoughts. Plus, seeing Albel there really wouldn't help her troubled mind. Nel had planned on going to her room and locking the door so she could avoid everyone for the rest of the night, but it seemed that someone had other plans for her. Standing at her door, effectively blocking her way was Cliff.

"Where do you think you're going? The party is downstairs," Cliff asked playfully as he leaned forward to smile at her.

"I'm not feeling to well, I just want to go to sleep early," she replied bluntly, not wanting to play around.

"Sure you are," Cliff crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side to give her his 'I don't believe you' stare, "Come on, don't be a party pooper! Everyone's going to be there and will be upset that you're not there …Albel's going to be there."

"_Albel is the reason why I don't want to go you oaf!"_ Nel scowled slightly before letting out a long sigh, "Please…I'm not in the mood to talk or yell at anyone. Just let me though."

"But…it's to celebrate Onward! Defrosted Tuna Team's victory. Fayt's gonna cry when he finds that the woman he thinks of as his big sister isn't coming. Please Nel? …Don't make me beg!"

The Crimson Blade rolled her eyes at Cliff's act and crossed her arms when he gave up in favor of chuckling over his joke. She knew that Fayt thought of her as his sister just as much as Roger thought of her as his mother. It was a blatant lie that definitely wasn't going to put her though a guilt trip. Suddenly she began to suspect Cliff was up to something. Why would he care if she went to the party or not?

"Why do you want me to go so badly?"

His expression quickly changed into a sly one as he glanced at her through half-lidded eyes, "I have a hunch that you are avoiding a certain someone…a certain 'blonde' you could say."

Nel was well aware that Cliff had an ego that could match Albel's arrogance, but did he really think that she may have feelings for _him_? Either this was another one of his 'jokes' or she had a big misunderstanding on her hands. She decided that he was joking and gave him a blank stare, "I'm not avoiding you."

Cliff coughed in surprise before he began to laugh and raise his hands up in defense, "I didn't mean me! I was talking about another blonde…and technically he's not a full blonde."

Almost immediately, a mental image of Albel's hair wraps and the blonde ends filled her mind. So he knew about what was happening between her and Albel. What was he hoping to accomplish by making her go to the party? She gave him a heated glare and stormed over to her door while hoping that he would move out of the way, but he stood firm ground. Cliff raised an eyebrow and looked at her expectantly, practically demanding her to surrender.

"You're not going to rest until I go, is that it?" she muttered dejectedly as a wide grin spread across his face.

"You betcha!"

Nel felt like screaming at this point but instead let out a quiet growl as she asked, "Why?"

"I want to see you and hotshot make fools of yourselves," the Klausian answered with a casual shrug.

"You despicable-!"

"Now, now, no need to thank me," he interjected, "You know, I'm pretty good at helping others with their problems. Mirage said so herself!"

"I know this may be shocking to you, but I think you're full of hot air," Nel grumbled as Cliff brought his hand up to her upper back and gave her a slight push towards the lobby.

"No really! Mirage said that 'I'm always sticking my nose into other people's business without thinking of the consequences'. In other words: a problem solver!"

"More like a 'troublemaker' if you ask me."

"Well I didn't ask you," he said in a mocking tone, "You, Fayt, and Albel are pretty rude, you know that right?"

"I'll keep that in mind…"

The minute they entered the lobby, Nel instantly spotted Albel and went into panic mode when his crimson orbs locked onto her. She quickly turned around to leave, but Cliff blocked her way with his arm and forced her to move forward, "Leaving so soon?"

She forgot about her anger towards Cliff when Albel started heading their way. She tried thinking of any excuse that could get her out of the mess she was in.

"I, uh…have a run in my stockings," she took another glance at Albel, "…I-it's very hard to master, bye!"

"I'll pretend to understand what that means for now, but," the large man made a coughing sound that sounded suspiciously like a laugh, "…you're not going anywhere!"

He prevented her from leaving once again when she made another attempt and enjoyed the absolute fury she held in her eyes for him. No wonder Albel has so much fun teasing her! It was fun!

"By the way, do you know what porno is?" Nel's anger quickly changed into confusion. She had never heard of such a word before, but she was certain that it was bad.

"No?" he guessed from the look on her face, "Well that's not important, you'll know soon enough. I've been letting him read my magazines…just thought I should give you the heads up…"

She wasn't sure if this was supposed to be good news or bad news, but didn't really want to find out. They both watched as Albel continued to gracefully navigate through the crowds to reach them. Nel was getting more and more nervous the by minute as he drew closer. By the time he was 5 yards away, she spied the girls taking to each other out of the corner of her eye and came up with an idea.

"Oh, I hear Maria calling! Coming!" she called out before bolting to her unexpected saviors. She was relieved that Cliff didn't try to stop her (probably because he wasn't expecting it) and immediately sought sanctuary within the group.

* * *

The party was rather uneventful as Nel made sure she had either Sophia, Maria, or both around her at all times. Albel did make a few attempts to get her alone, but she'd counter it by asking one of the girls how to use, or what is the purpose of any random object they came across. Sophia and Peppita answered all of her questions enthusiastically, but Maria kept casting concerned looks at her. She knew there was something going on, but didn't bother prying because she knew if there was something wrong, then Nel would tell someone about it. The party ended in the late hours of the night and Nel was relieved to find that Albel had long since given up and left the room. 

Fayt had announced that they were going to the Sphere Corporation tomorrow and ordered everyone to get some sleep and to be ready by late morning to head out. Nel felt that she would have no trouble complying with the orders because her mind and body felt drained of all energy, she was ready to sleep. But to get to her room, she had to pass by Albel's room. True, the Glyphian was no spy, but she wouldn't put it past him to be able to recognize the sound of her footsteps as she crept down the hallway. With her eyes trained on his door, she slowly made her way down the hall, ready to run if the door should suddenly open.

This was getting ridiculous if she had to go to such extremes to avoid him. Thankfully they were leaving tomorrow and both warriors shouldn't have time to even think about the events of today, they would be too tired or exhausted to care about each other when the journey started up again. The Aquarian sighed as she leaned against the wall next to the door to her room. Should she really let it drop like this? She knew that they would have to talk sooner or later, but what if she couldn't wait? Albel may have affected her to the point where she wouldn't be able to concentrate in battle. She needed to know what these feelings were. She wanted to know why she couldn't stop thinking about him. She …wanted to kiss him again… Oh Apris, she could still feel her lips tingling from the kiss!

There was no point in denying it anymore. She _did _feel something for him. …But…of all people to fall for did it have to be that egotistical, arrogant, rude, bloodthirsty…impossibly sexy, and incredibly strong Glyphian? She really had it bad for Albel. Now the question was, did he really like her, or was he teasing her like he always does? She may have been a plaything to him all this time…

Perhaps this wasn't the time to be thinking about it. It should wait until everything has settled…that is _if_ the situation can be settled. With a sigh, Nel pushed herself off of the wall and headed into her room. She was suddenly met with darkness when her door closed. Strange, she could have sworn she had left the lights on when she left. She carefully navigated her way to the nearest light switch and bit back a startled cry when the lights came on. Albel was standing right in front of her with a grin that could be described as either playful or wicked.

"What are-" was all she could get out before he pinned her to the wall. She watched with bated breath as he stared down at her. His eyes held a mixture of several different emotions, making him look confused and lost. That was how she was feeling earlier. Did that mean…?

"By any chance…have you been feeling strange? Like becoming lightheaded, can't see straight, and losing feeling in your limbs?" His eyes widened slightly, but he made no sound or indication of an answer. That look did bring a sense of relief to her, it meant that they both had the same thing, "I think I might know what's wrong…"

"I know what it is…" he said gruffly as his features contorted in slight anger, "What I don't understand is why. Of all the weakling maggots known as the fairer sex, I knew that none of them would ever catch my eye. I wasn't going to waste time constantly protecting those pathetic worms! …And then _you_ appeared, a lowlife Aquarian scum no less."

Nel matched his furious gaze and prepared to tell him off, but he wasn't done yet, "In one single battle you managed to destroy three of my units, you helped defeat my second in command, you made me feel weak! I should despise you like all the other Aquarian trash!"

"I should be the one asking how in world I ever fell for a man like you!" she retorted, angry that he was insulting her people. She had wanted to call him a monster. That _was_ how she used to view him as. But now she couldn't bring herself to say it because somewhere during the journey that 'monster' slowly melted away into a human being …with a monstrous personality.

"Why can't you be like the other Aquarian scum…like those other women?" His voice lost its hard edge as he turned his head to glare at the wall behind her.

"You can despise me all you want, I don't see anything that could stop you," she replied softly.

"But I can't…you're the only one who understands, you're the only woman who ever saw me as a person and not a beast. …Argh! Damn you, Nel! …You've reduced me to a pathetic maggot."

She couldn't hold back the small chuckle and earned a glare from the man towering over her, "You don't seem that pathetic to me. Considering what you been through, I'm amazed to see how far you've gotten all by yourself. …If Clair hadn't been there when my father disappeared I wouldn't know what would have happened to me… I probably wouldn't be here now, I have thought of killing myself several times before Clair convinced me that I'm not alone. You're stronger than you think, and you need to realize that emotions other than rage don't make you weak."

Albel just stood there, taking in her words silently. He almost looked like he wanted to roll his eyes when he shifted to rest his forehead against hers. Nel suddenly realized that his hands had moved from her shoulders down to her waist during the conversation and that her hands were now resting on his upper arms. She didn't feel nervous in his embrace anymore, she was quiet comfortable. …That is until she noticed the heat coming off of his body and was suddenly aware of his scent. Contrary to popular belief, he didn't smell of dried blood and rotting flesh, he smelled of Glyphian spices and sandal wood.

"Hmph…whatever. At least you make sense. That fool only goes on about 'emotional and psychological disorders' or some senseless drivel." Nel wanted to say something, but instead moaned when she felt his good hand trail down her outer thigh. His expression quickly changed back to the playful one from before. He was thrilled to know how responsive she was to his touch. He then leaned down and brushed his lips against hers in a kiss that was gentler than the first and just like the first one, it was intended to be quick, but Nel protested when he began moving away and wrapped her arms around his neck to keep him still.

Albel had been holding back up to this point, but it was all shattered to pieces by her actions as he pressed her against the wall and forced her mouth open with his tongue. He immediately explored her mouth, searching for her tongue as she ran her fingers though his two toned locks. She smirked inwardly as she avoided his tongue until he finally found it and brought his right hand up to fist in her hair so he could deepen the kiss. They broke away minutes later, both breathless from the lack of air. The kiss was electrifying, it left her wanting more… Albel eagerly complied with her unspoken request and slowly moved their bodies away from the wall. In the back of her mind, she registered that he was leading her towards her bed and briefly wondered if she should stop him before it went too far.

Without warning, he tore his mouth away from hers and trailed kisses down her jaw line until he reached her neck. She knew she was gone when he placed his knee between her legs and cupped a breast with his good hand while his claw kept her body firmly against his. After that, he placed one more kiss on her lips and then pushed her unto the bed. The impact didn't harm her, but she had to regain her senses before she was able to sit up. Nel glanced up at his flushed features in confusion before he turned away from her.

"Albel?" Why did he stop? Wasn't he about to…? She couldn't finish that thought without blushing heavily.

"Keep your distance from me," he growled in a deep tone.

"W-What?" She felt her heart stop when his words registered. Did she do something wrong?

"We're going into enemy territory tomorrow to most likely fight the person who apparently 'created' us. We can't afford to start something like this, it would only affect our fighting. …That's what I wanted to talk to you about…before you so thoroughly distracted me."

"Are you saying this is my fault?" she sneered as anger welled within her, "You're the one who started it."

"I didn't say it was your fault now did I?" he said coolly as he glanced back at her from the corner of his eye, "But you _did_ start this the second you kissed me back in the waiting rooms."

Oh how this man could infuriate her! She almost wanted to get up and hurt him, but then realized that he was right. …Well, right about the first part, she still thought this was his fault.

"It's a little too late to be telling me this, I doubt I will be able to forget what just happened."

"I don't want you forget, I want you to focus on your fighting so you'll stay alive. I have felt this way for you for quite some time and I had to meditate to keep it down. …You easily broke through that and now I will have to try harder to suppress it. …But I really don't blame you, I blame myself. I shouldn't have come here…" He started walking away as Nel lowered her gaze to the floor. She was thankful that he did decide to stop because even though their countries were going through a truce, something like this wasn't allowed. She could only imagine how disappointed the queen and Clair would be if they were to find out. She was very close to allowing Albel the Wicked to take her. But despite her thinking, Albel had one more thing to say to her as he stopped at her door and stared at her with a feral gleam in his eyes.

"Zelpher," he practically purred as a smirk graced his lips, "When all of this is over, you might want to watch yourself."

"What do you mean by that?" she inquired as she wondered what made him so amused all of a sudden.

"…Because I am going to hunt you down and make you mine…Don't bother telling me that it's forbidden, I will find a way whether our kingdoms like it or not," he replied, making his prey unconsciously shudder in delight at the tone of his voice.

* * *

…You know somehow I can sense that you think this ended to soon…Well guess what? This is a one-shot with two parts! The next part will be posted either before or after the update to Aquios High. Once again I want to thank Lorelai Kline for helping out with this fic and for creating Fluffy the fluffball because now Prissy has a friend that truly understands her. If you want to learn more about Fluffy, check out Lor's fic 'Blind to Heaven' (It's an Alnel!). C ya next chapter! 


	2. Part II

Here is the second part, I don't own SO3, blah, blah, blah …Hey I speak Dracula! (lame joke, sorry. I've been eating roasted mini marshmallows over a candle flame so I'm a bit hyper) I also decided to up the rating because after reading the age recommendations on T and M, I figured the battle scene in this was M material. And before I go, more special thanks to Lorelai Kline (she gave me an interesting line about Nel's thoughts on Albel's scream).

Part II

"…_Because I am going to hunt you down and make you mine…"_

Nel's eyes snapped open as she felt her body falling. White sheets fell down with her and tangled in her legs as she tried to get up. She gave up in her struggle and opted to sit there and figure out how she got into such a situation. Oh yeah, she was having a nice dream…but what was it about? Ruby colored eyes appeared in her mind and a deep voice repeated the promise Albel had made to her on that night three months ago. Now she remembered. Three months had passed since they had defeated Luther and the Elicoorians had returned to their normal lives. Airyglyph and Aquaria were still observing a truce, but there was still tension among the people, mostly among the stubborn commoners who thought the other country was worthless. Arias was still being rebuilt and more and more of the townspeople were retuning to their homes and former lives before the attack. Nel had been working herself to the bone since the journey ended, resulting in the queen giving her a forced vacation. With nothing much to do and no where to go, she decided to stay in Arias to help Clair out.

Save for Roger and Adray, she hadn't seen any of her companions, not even Albel. She knew Albel was still alive because she would hear talk that he was in town but was never be able to find him. It was almost as if he were avoiding her. He had said that he was going to make her his and yet he never seem to even attempt to fulfill that promise. Maybe he had forgotten or maybe…he didn't feel the same way for her anymore. Then again maybe there was something holding him back: the thin line of peace reigning between their kingdoms. But still…would it kill him to stop by and say hello? It was not like _that_ wasn't allowed. Well if he wasn't going to talk to her, then maybe she should go talk to him!

Suddenly the door to her room opened to reveal a worried Clair. Golden eyes scanned the room and found the other edge of the Crimson Blade sitting on the floor, tangled in sheets with a determined expression on her face.

"Are you okay Nel? I thought I heard-"

"I'm fine! I just fell out of bed, that's all," Nel said quickly as she gave her friend a reassuring smile.

"Again?" the silver haired girl chuckled, "Well if you're okay, then please report to the conference room after you get dressed."

Nel managed to free her legs from the sheets and stand up before she tilted her head in confusion from Clair's order, "Why?"

"Well…we have a situation that only you may be able to handle," Clair started while glancing at her with uncertainty. It didn't sound like a big problem, but why did Clair look so …unsure?

"What's wrong?"

"Well…you'd have to come down and find out for yourself," Clair replied before leaving Nel to her morning routines.

Nel decided to put on her uniform and brush her hair, but didn't bother with her armor or weapons. She didn't expect any fighting to go on today so there was no point in weapons. Once she deemed herself decent enough, she opened the door and headed downstairs towards the conference room. Inside, she expected everyone to be sitting at the table, discussing some serious matter, but instead found them all crowding around a window. Tynave and Clair were quietly talking behind a giggling Farleen and several other female soldiers. The window they were pressing their faces against faced a small field that they had transformed into training grounds so Nel had to wonder what was out there to cause such a commotion.

Nel cleared her throat to gain Clair and Tynave's attention, "What's going on?"

"Take a look for yourself, Lady Nel," Tynave offered as she pulled the still giggling Farleen out of the way.

When she was able to reach the window, she didn't find anything unusual. …No wait, there was someone there. It was a tall man with a claw on his left arm pacing around like a tiger on the prowl. It was Albel! Her heart fluttered when she recognized the visitor and she wanted to run out there and either tackle him into a kiss or give him a black eye. She decided to back away slowly and calm herself instead. After all, there was an audience and both choices would raise suspicion, not to mention the end of the truce.

"He's been there since the crack of dawn and won't respond to anyone else," Tynave explained when Nel was done looking out the window.

"Since you have more experience in this area, do you think you could go out there and see what he wants?" Clair asked with an amused smile, "Pardon the mimic, but I do not think that any of us are the right 'maggot' he wants to speak with."

Nel seldom kept any secrets from Clair, so the commander did know of her friend's involvement with the man outside. As much as Nel had feared, she didn't like the fact that she chosen their enemy for a lover, but was overall happy that she found someone to be with. …And she was somewhat jealous too. If Clair had time to find someone she liked, then her father would stop trying to find suitors for her.

"What? He didn't want to talk to the 'worm'?" Nel inquired sarcastically with wide eyes. Albel's vocabulary had been an ongoing joke between the two girls even before the truce began. During her spying days, Nel overheard what Albel called each of the members of the Crimson Blade and shared with the others, resulting in the joke every time he was the subject of the conversation. Clair was the only one called 'worm' and everyone else was maggots. Of course they knew that Nel was 'woman', 'wench', or 'Zelpher' nowadays, but she still went by the first name she was given.

"I'm afraid that this is a job that only a 'fool' can handle."

"I see… Tell the maggots I'm going in," Nel replied before her and Clair started chuckling.

She slowly made her way to the front door, trying hard to not look excited or anxious and then straightened her hair and clothes when she was out of sight. If Albel had come to see her, did that mean he was going to fulfill his promise? Then again, he may be here to deliver a message from the king or was here in the role of a goodwill volunteer, probably a forced volunteer. But if that were true, then why didn't he want to talk to Clair? After the short journey around the mansion, she paused near the corner to peer out at the Glyphian down below. He didn't seem any different than before, he still wore the same clothes and his hair was the same, if not a bit longer. She noticed that he had his Fangs of the Wicked on as well as the Crimson Scourge. Was he expecting a fight?

When she finally decided to move away from her hiding place he glanced up at her and immediately stopped pacing.

"It's about time the maggots sent you. I was about to go storm the place."

So he _was_ here to see her. She fought back a blush and tried to act casual, "So you finally decided to come see me, huh?"

"You make it sound as if it were an easy task. It's hard to track you down when you're off on those missions." He looked as if he were about to reach out to her, but then he cast his eyes above her and scowled before he ran the hand through his hair instead. Nel hadn't thought of that, she _had _been on a lot of missions lately. She didn't think once that her missions were the reason he hadn't visited her.

"…I guess not," she finally agreed as she stepped closer to him, "At least you came, so I am glad."

Albel backed away slightly and tuned away from her, earning a confused look from her. Why was he doing this? Nel was about to question him on his behavior when he cut her off.

"Could we talk in a more …private place?" he inquired in a nearly inaudible voice, but she was able to hear clearly. Her eyes widened when she remembered that Clair and the others were still watching them through the window and were most likely trying to read their lips. She turned so that her back was facing the window and went into her usual pose.

"…We could meet up later somewhere else, that is if you don't mind going further into Aquarian territory."

"I don't mind, but pick a place that has no people nearby," he said before he dared to glance at her from the corner of his eye.

"Remember the entrance to the Aquatic Gardens past the Irisa Fields? Is that private enough for you?" she asked with a grin.

"Very," he responded in a deep tone that made her hold back a shudder, "Let's meet there…say in…four hours?"

"Sure," Nel nodded and allowed her side to face the window. She might as well make up another conversation to satisfy curious eyes, "So was there anything else you needed to tell me?"

Albel seemed to catch on to what she was planning and also turned to show the side of his body, "Yeah, the off-world maggots are coming for a visit. They think they may be here by tonight, but are not sure. …Frankly I'd rather not see those maggots, especially the ape, but they threatened to track us down if we don't show up. Bah…"

"Really? …How do _you_ know this?" She wasn't expecting this response and was even more shocked when he began digging into his item bag. It was stuffed to the brim with miscellaneous healing supplies! Was he expecting to be attacked by the whole Aquarian army?

"The worms informed me with this 'communicator' device. Speaking of which, here is yours. You ran off before they could give it to you." He handed her a small black rectangular box that when opened, revealed several strange buttons.

"Uh…thanks," she replied as she studied the foreign device before he scoffed.

"That sounded grateful," he said sarcastically as he crossed his arms, "though I suppose I was expecting too much from Aquarian scum."

"Watch it…" she snapped in a threatening tone. He better not be thinking about starting a fight in the middle of town… She decided to focus her attention back to the communicator, "So where are we supposed to meet them?"

"Why don't you go ask them?" he retorted before turning on his heel and heading out of the training field, "I'm leaving…"

"W-wait!" Nel called out as she held out her hand towards him.

"…Four hours," he reminded her before adding, "And take a shower, you reek like an Aquarian."

Nel scowled as she watched the Glyphian warrior saunter off. She knew he said that just to get a rise out of her, she could see the smirk on his lips, "Just keep walking you…you JERK!"

She wasn't surprised to hear distant laughter from inside the mansion.

When she returned to the conference room, everyone was sitting at the table trying too hard to look innocent. Clair carefully had her arm resting on the table so that her hand covered her mouth.

"So…what did Albel have to say?" Clair eventually asked, trying to make it seem like they _hadn't_ been eavesdropping on them. But unfortunately, one of Nel's subordinates didn't catch on.

"And what does a … 'communicator' do?" Tynave asked as she tried to pronounce the word she read from their lips.

"Tynave!" Farleen and Clair hissed.

"Oops!" the dirty blonde girl slouched in her seat from embarrassment. Nel shook her head as she sat down at Clair's left hand side.

"Don't bother with the act, I can tell you were all amused by the performance."

"…But you really did look funny when you called him a jerk!" Farleen chuckled, then added, "Besides, we all know that Glyphians smell worse."

"Yeah, they smell like they always have beans for dinner!" Tynave agreed before the two broke out in laughter. Clair almost joined in until she noticed Nel putting the device on the table.

The red haired woman knew nothing about how to use it, but after close examination, she discovered that it was remade so the Elicoorians could use it. There were 12 buttons, 10 had each of the team member's names, one was the 'call' button, and the last one was the 'shut off' button. Albel had said to call them to find out where to meet them, but didn't know who to call. She decided to call Mirage since she always seemed to know what's going on.

A screen popped up in thin air above the box, catching the attention of everyone present as the words 'connecting' appeared. Nel was the only one who didn't appear amazed when the screen changed to reveal a beautiful blonde woman's face.

"_Hello Nel. I'm glad to see Albel finally gave you your communicator."_

"Hi Mirage! It's great to see you again. I feel like it has been an eternity since I've last seen you guys."

"_It has been quite a while…three months in fact-"_ she was cut off by a blonde blur behind her.

"_Hey, is that Nel?"_ a voice easily recognized as Cliff asked in the background, "_Tell her I said hi!"_

Mirage rolled her eyes and chose to ignore him, "_So has anyone told you that we're coming by for a visit? We just picked up Fayt and Sophia on Earth and should be by Elicoor around nightfall or tomorrow morning."_

"Yeah, I heard about that, but where are you going to be?" Nel inquired before Mirage went into a thinking pose.

"_I'm not sure. Probably Aquios, but it really depends on what you, Albel, Roger, and Adray decide on."_

"_Hey, do you think they had kids yet? Can I be the Godfather?"_ Cliff inquired again in the background.

"What did he say?" A blush began forming on her cheeks as Mirage glared behind her, "I don't want to dignify that with an answer, but does he really think that babies are born after three months?"

Mirage shrugged as she faced the screen, "_Klausian pregnancies can last up to two months, but I can assure you that he was joking."_

Suddenly an alarm went off before Marietta's voice was heard, "_Captain, we are approaching an asteroid field. What course shall we take?"_

"…_Isn't that the same asteroid field where Cliff's hunch was wrong?"_ Maria wondered before Steeg confirmed that it was the same asteroid field.

"_I was wrong one time! One time!"_

"_Wait…" _Fayt's voice started while Sophia started giggling, "_You guys crashed in the _Solar System_?"_

"_Marietta, proceed slowly and do not, I repeat, _do not _listen to Cliff's hunches,"_ Maria ordered.

"_All right, that's it! Give me control of the helm. I'm going to direct the ship through the asteroid field and prove to you that the last time was a fluke."_ Everyone gasped at Cliff's request and Mirage grew pale.

"_Nel, we have an emergency over here, I'll have to call you back later," _Mirage said before the screen flashed and the words 'End Transmission' appeared.

"Are…they going to be okay?" Farleen inquired as Nel closed the box.

"I'm not sure."

* * *

Two hours later, Nel was back in her room getting ready to go. She briefly glanced at her Valkyrie Garb and wondered if she would need it. After thinking it over, she decided that she wasn't going to be in a big fight and put on her regular armor. Once she sheathed her Blades of Ryusen, she headed out the door only to run into Clair. The grey haired woman seemed concerned as she stared at her best friend. 

"What did Albel mean when he said 'four hours'?" she inquired before Nel could ask what was wrong. That part of the conversation was disguised so she wasn't surprised that Clair didn't know.

"Because we're meeting up somewhere," she replied, not wanting to tell her anymore than that.

"Where?"

"Near Aquios." Which was true in a sense.

"Oh…Nel? I have this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that he is up to something so…"

"What are you saying?" Nel cut her off, shocked by her words, "He is no longer our enemy and I have been traveling to different worlds with him. I trust him."

"I'm not saying that you shouldn't go and I know that he wouldn't harm you……well he wouldn't kill you anyway, I'm just saying be careful and be sure to bring some extra healing supplies with you. …You know, in case you fight, or rather spar with each other."

Nel was about to tell her that Albel already seemed to have enough items for the both of them, but then realized that Clair may be right. He _was_ equipped with his best weapons and he did ask to meet in a place where there were no people. Did he want to fight her? For what purpose? Or perhaps there was a monster that required two people to fight it. Then again, it was not likely that Albel would be asking her for help. Well there were some things she was certain about: he didn't scare her, she still trusted him, and she was still going.

"Thank you for telling me this, Clair. I will be careful." Nel proceeded to head out, but was stopped one more time by her friend's voice.

"If I am correct and you two are going to be fighting, could you do a favor for me?"

"What is it?"

"Make him scream at least once…for Tynave and Farleen." Nel suppressed the faint blush threatening to overcome her. Albel's scream... how could she forget the last time she heard it? Such raw, unadulterated anguish... the very memory brought out something within her that she wasn't quite willing to examine.

"I'll uh, see what I can do…" She ducked out of the mansion before Clair could say another word.

Nel traveled from Arias to Peterny with no problems or detours as she avoided most of the monsters in the Palmira Planes. It wasn't like she couldn't defeat them, but it was still time consuming and she wanted to be there on time. Peterny was bustling with people and business like it did everyday, leaving her to push through the heavy crowds as she headed north. She stopped only once to purchase some blackberries and a few blueberries before she was out of the town. She didn't see many monsters out in the Irisa Fields…well actually she didn't see any _live_ monsters out. Dozens of fresh corpses littered the sides of the path as she headed down the almost faded road, past the near demolished bridge, and all the way to the entrance to the Aquatic Gardens. Albel certainly had quite a warm up.

She was immediately able to spot him when she arrived. He was sitting on the ground, leaning against a stone wall as he lifted his gaze up to her. He didn't say anything, no greeting or a 'you're late' comment. He only stared at her like a predator inspecting his prey. Nel resisted the urge to shudder at his gaze and walked up to him. His eyes followed her every move, but he still refused to speak.

"So what did you want to talk about?" she finally asked as she leaned over slightly. Before she realized it, his good hand shot out and pulled her down. The next thing she knew was that she was sprawled across his lap with his claw arm supporting her back and his other hand trailing up her outer thigh.

Albel smirked down at her, "Comfortable Zelpher?"

She glared at him and quickly squirmed in his lap to get into an upright position, but his claw wrapped around her waist when she tried to get out. She was expecting to have a conversation with him not…this! He was holding her so very close that she could smell the Glyphian spices on him and easily felt the heat coming off of him.

"L-let me go!" she protested before she held in a blush when he brought his hand up to her cheek and forced her to look at him.

"You don't like this?"

"Not used to it," she replied. He let out a small chuckle and then shifted her to sit beside him. He was still very close. Too close for her to think clearly. She didn't notice the sudden smirk but didn't care to notice when she felt his good hand snake behind her and rubbed the flesh that was exposed by the slit in her skirt. She nearly squeaked before she grabbed his wandering hand to prevent it from exploring any further.

"Since when have you become such a pervert?" she inquired as she pulled his hand away.

Another blush threatened to overcome her as his mouth found its way to her ear and whispered gently, "Since when have you become such a tease?"

Nel couldn't hold it back any longer when his tongue darted out to trace the outer shell of her ear.

"What do you mean?"

"You constantly provoke me in public with the way you walk, smile…._breathe._ Because of you, I always had to restrain myself from claiming you in front of those maggots."

There were so many insulting comebacks she could have replied with, but the hot puffs of breath on her ear turned her wit into mush. …She quickly jerked away after his claw came up to cup her cheek, knowing that he was about to pull her in for a kiss. If he thought he was going to seduce her here of all places, he had another think coming.

"If all you're going to do is feel me up, then I'm leaving!"

Albel let out a laugh that could be deciphered as evil or amused, she couldn't tell.

"Fine then, be that way," he chuckled before inquiring in a more serious tone, "Do you remember what I told you three months ago before we went into that blasted Sphere building?"

She almost froze as she realized he was talking about his promise. Was he here to tell her he couldn't do it? No, that can't be it, otherwise he wouldn't be practically trying to undress her. So did that mean that he found a way to be with her without going against both their kingdoms? She was about to ask him, but decided to pull his leg instead, "You mean that threat you gave me where if I didn't cure you _after_ a battle, you were going to tear out my tongue so I couldn't cast runology?"

Instead of a scowl or a glare, she received a playful nip on her ear, "If I have to stay focused and not touch you, then you have to stay on subject and stop trying to tempt me into pinning you onto the ground."

Her body heated up at the thought of him losing control. Still, this needed to be discussed. She had looked for any possible way for them to even be allowed to be seen talking to each other and doubted that he could have had any better luck than she had. She didn't want to have to secretly meet him in places just to see how he was fairing.

"I remember…" she sighed as she glanced away from him, "Are you going to be able to keep your promise?"

"Maybe. It depends," he shrugged. Nel faced him, confused by his response.

"Depends? On what?"

"You'll see," he grinned as he grabbed his Crimson Scourge up from the ground beside him, "I challenge you to Bellare."

"B-Bellare?" It sounded familiar to her. Wasn't it some duel?

"What does challenging me to a fight have to do with your promise?"

She was about to think that he may have been talking about some other conversation they had in the past until he replied, "It's an ancient duel practiced in Aquor. It's so old and forgotten that both kingdoms still have it in their laws, meaning that the outcome of this battle will _have_ to be accepted by them."

Bellare…Bellare…she tried running the name through her mind, but nothing came up. She knew she had heard it before…and what did he mean when he said that they would _have _to accept the outcome? At least it didn't sound like a fight to the death.

He easily caught the confused look on her face and nearly laughed, "What, you still don't know what it is? Come on Zelpher, you Aquarians are supposed to be descendents of Aquor!"

"Yeah, but it's so old…and there were so many different duels," she argued, "…What are the conditions of this duel anyway?"

"Just to fight until one of us can't fight anymore. Since you still don't remember it, let's make this more interesting, say if I win, then you'll have to do what ever I want and if you win then I'll do what ever you want."

There was something he wasn't telling her, she could see it in his eyes. But what was he hiding? Well it was apparent that he wasn't going to tell her so she decided to see first hand what he was planning…

"Sounds good. I accept the challenge." They both stood up as she reached for her daggers. If she won this duel, then he would have to do what ever she wanted! True, it would be hard to defeat him, but it wasn't impossible.

He smirked as he brought the Crimson Scourge out of its sheath and pointed it at her, "Good… I'm going to claim you in the way most befitting a warrior like you!"

Nel blinked at his words, but didn't get a chance to dwell on them as he was quickly upon her. She barely managed to pull out her daggers and parry his first attack. She brought up her second dagger to block his claw and jumped back to arrange her feet into a proper fighting stance. Sparks flew off their weapons each time they hit due to the force Albel was using. He certainly wasn't going to go easy on her, then again neither was she. Nel blocked one more attack before bringing her blade across his stomach, lightly scraping the muscled flesh. It wasn't deep enough to make him bleed, but it was enough to make him jump back.

She used the sudden space to make an attack of her own. She quickly charged him, clashed her blade with his, dodged his claw, and then dropped down for a sweeping kick, knocking him to the ground. He had a look on his face that said that he was impressed with her fighting so far, but he didn't look anymore close to tiring out than she did. The duel had only just begun. As Nel moved to get up from her position, his gauntlet clamped down on her ankle, the sharp points digging into the leather and the flesh that was underneath it. She ignored the stinging sensation as she reached down to make him let go, but he pulled her down until she was underneath him.

His sword soon planted itself into the ground, next to her arm, cutting off some of her sleeve and grazing a bit of her arm. His claw came up to rip her scarf from her neck and it looked like it was going to wrap around her neck, but she kneed him in the stomach before he could continue. Albel's heavy body fell to the ground beside her, allowing her to roll away and get back up. She was able to reclaim her previously fallen daggers as he regained himself and went back into another fighting stance. She steeled herself for the next attack and easily held back his katana with one dagger, but was completely caught off guard when his claw wrapped around her waist and pulled her against him.

His lips crashed against hers for but a second before he pushed her away and prepared to strike. Nel was too dazed from his brief kiss to block him and ended up having some of her leather bodice torn in the front by the Fangs of the Wicked. She caught herself in time to block the claw with her blade to prevent it from traveling down to tear her skirt. She used her much of her strength to push back his metal arm and continued to hold his sword at bay with her other blade before she planted her foot against his stomach and used him like a spring board to gain some distance from him. It was now Albel's turn to be stunned as something flashed across his cheek, leaving a small trail of blood on his face. She had flung one of her daggers at him in mid air. Once she landed, she immediately made the hand motion to summon some runology, but before she could let out the last syllables for the Ice Needle spell, he was suddenly gone from her sight.

Albel's gauntlet had found its way back around her middle again and she soon felt his rock hard chest pressed against her back. His claw tightened around her possessively as his mouth descended upon her neck. He gradually began trailing upward, kissing along her lower jaw and up her cheek. The blood on his cut smeared onto her own cheek during his ministrations, eliciting a primal growl from the male behind her at the sight of it. She let out a moan and was about to relax in his grip until she remembered that they were supposed to be fighting. She was then suddenly aware of the fact that he was reaching for his sword that he stuck in the ground beside him.

Nel quickly shoved her remaining dagger into his metal arm, forcing him to let go of her. When she dared to glance back, she was satisfied to find that she destroyed the 'Earth Glaive' symbol that was engraved on his claw. Now he couldn't cast that spell anymore …not that he had been using it in this battle. She cautiously inched closer to the discarded twin dagger that she had thrown earlier as he examined his good hand. It had been trailing down the arm that he grazed and now had her blood all over his palm. Albel smirked before he raised his crimson eyes back to the Aquarian.

She had slowly bent down to pick up her dagger, making sure that she was facing him the whole time. When she was back into her usual fighting stance, she reflected back on the battle. He seemed to be using her feelings for him to his advantage by kissing her to throw her off guard. Also, it seems that she wouldn't be able to cast any runology without him getting that close to her again. She wasn't sure if she could last much longer if he did that again…

"You've gained some …peculiar battle strategies since we've returned to Elicoor," she replied, speaking for the first time since the duel started.

If it were possible, the smirk on his face became larger and more evil, "One has to adapt to peculiar fighting conditions."

Nothing more was said as the two warriors continued to attack each other. Her speed had been slowed greatly because of the damage Albel did to her ankle, but in return, she was able to render his sword arm useless when she dislocated his shoulder. The battle lasted for hours before they both showed signs of wearing down. Unfortunately for Nel, the reason she was wearing down was because she received more injuries than he did. Although she didn't have to worry about the Crimson Scourge, his claw still did fair enough damage…especially on her clothes. He destroyed her sleeves, leggings, skirt, and ripped out the center of her shirt, allowing him to see some cleavage. She was fairly certain that his attention was officially on her chest rather than on her face after he did that.

Nel had one more idea left in her mind and waited for him to attack. Just as his claw came at her, she ducked under his arm, sheathed one dagger and punched him hard in the stomach. The wind was knocked out if him for but a second as she quickly pulled back and prepared to hit him again, this time in the jaw. But the final blow never came, Albel's mouth descended upon her own as he purposely fell on top of her. They both fell over onto the ground as Nel's weapon flew out of her grasp. He balanced himself with his claw arm so he wouldn't crush her, but covered her body enough to where she couldn't push him off. She was trapped and couldn't get out, she had no choice but to admit defeat…that is if Albel was willing to let her breathe.

"Okay you win…I give up," she gasped after he finally decided to release her lips. He was too busy catching his own breath to answer her, but he reluctantly rolled off of her so that he was lying beside her. The next few hours were spent on resting and then recovering. They had plenty enough blueberries and blackberries to heal all the wounds they inflicted upon each other and soon all that was left was popping Albel's shoulder back into place.

When it was all over, Nel's thoughts went back into the duel as they both sat next to each other against the stone wall. She had to wonder what Albel would make her do and how it would be allowed by their kingdoms.

"So what do I have to do?" she wondered as she lazily moved her head to look at him.

"Marry me."

"What?"

"Since you admitted defeat, you now belong to me and as for the bet we made: I want you to marry me once everyone gets used to us being together," he explained in a slightly tired tone. Suddenly it all came back to her.

Ancient Aquorians consisted mainly of warrior women (she recalled Fayt once saying that they were similar to Earth's Amazons) and in order for a man to claim one, they must defeat her in Bellare. If the man is strong enough and won the duel, the woman became his 'property' because marriage didn't exist yet. If Albel was correct and if the Bellare duel was still within both Aquaria's and Airyglyph's laws, then she legally was his now, truce or no truce. Then, of course, if their leaders accepted it (which she was certain they will), the commoners would eventually stop protesting the truce and then the peace treaty would finally be underway because they wouldl be likely candidates for an arranged marriage.

She had unwittingly sold herself to him the minute she agreed to the terms and accepted the challenge. But then there was something else…that small detail he was hiding earlier.

"Now I remember! ….You bastard! You were afraid that I could have won and used the fact that I didn't remember Bellare to your advantage," she grinned. If the male lost in the duel, then the woman was allowed to kill him.

"Give me more credit than that, woman! I wouldn't allow my Aquarian to defeat me…" he scoffed as he crossed his arms. Her grin refused to leave her face.

"Mmm hmm sure. If you weren't worried about me having a chance in winning, then why didn't you tell me what Bellare was? You knew I would have accepted the challenge either way."

"If I told you, then you would have lost on purpose and that wouldn't have been any fun," he said as his eyes traveled down to her breasts again.

She blushed as she noticed where he was staring and covered herself, "Fun? I thought fighting was fun to you? What you've been doing was trying to tear off my clothes with your weapons."

"In order to win in Bellare I had to demonstrate dominance over you…" he then smirked, "If you hadn't given up, I could have won another way by-"

Nel's blush deepened and she pushed him away before he could pounce on her, "That's okay Nox, I know the rest. No need to repeat it."

Albel grabbed her around the waist and pulled her halfway into his lap. Their noses were touching as a mischievous, but evil look came across his features, "Why _Zelpher_, are you afraid to discuss what happens between a man and woman in bed?"

"No…It's just that this isn't the place to discuss this." She began protesting when he shifted his legs and forced her to straddle him.

"Well I say that this _is_ a good place to discuss this," he declared before he nuzzled the side of her neck, "And I don't know about you but I don't think there will be much talking going on."

She moaned as his good hand traveled up her thigh and rested on her bottom. All rational thought was lost to her as her own hands found their way under his shirt. Albel let out a playful growl and then claimed her lips once again as his claw prepared to slice through the top half of her uniform…

Suddenly a loud noise erupted, making the two warriors spring apart and reach for their weapons. Nel's communicator rang once again inside her item bag before they realized what was making the noise. She slowly moved off of his lap and searched for the small box.

"Ignore the wretched thing!" he demanded after its third ring. Nel chose to ignore him and answered it when she found it. She soon regretted her decision when Adray's large head appeared on the screen.

"Hi Nel! …Wow you look so tiny! Have you been eating right?"

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, "I've been eating fine Adray. It's the screen that's making me look small."

"You don't say?" He continued to tinker with his communicator until his face appeared upside down on the screen, "I still don't get how all of you fit into this little box!"

Albel bit back a snort of amusement as Nel tried to hold in her laughter of the confused old man.

"Um, what do you need Adray?"

"Tell him you're busy," Albel muttered as he wrapped his arm around her waist again and pulled her back against him. Luckily the aged swordsman was none the wiser to the male voice and her sudden shifting as he made a serious face… Well it seemed like it was serious, it was hard to tell with him being upside down.

"Fayt has been trying to contact you for quite some time, but you never answered…"

Had her communicator gone off? She had never noticed it. Of course how could you notice it when you're trying to avoid getting hit in battle.

"I'm sorry, I have been fighting for most of the day so I must not have heard it."

"Ah that's okay!" he said as his features brightened up, "All he was going to tell you was that we're meeting up in Peterny. He also requested that our queen and the king of Airyglyph attend so I was put in charge of bringing Her Majesty and Lasselle over there and that little scrawny critter …Roger, wasn't it? He was put in charge of getting King Arzei and Count Woltar. …_Albel_ was supposed to be the one to do Roger's job, but no one was able to reach him either…"

He stopped for a moment to think something over, "Speaking of the lad, be sure to tell him where we're meeting…that is if he isn't hearing it now."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she inquired skeptically. Adray was a very dense man so she was going to be worried if _he_ was able to figure out who she was with.

"That Cliff fella said that he had a hunch that Albel was with you." Nel's free hand fisted in anger before the grey haired runologist let out a large grin that looked like a frown because he still wasn't holding the communicator properly, "Now don't rush to get here. Take your time and go at it more than once because I want a lot of grandkids. …If only Clair would stop rejecting the suitors I pick out for her…"

Nel quickly turned off the device and threw it furiously across the clearing. She tried hard to ignore Albel's amused grin and his lust filled eyes as she focused on fuming. She was so getting Cliff for this! He didn't need to tell _Adray_ about her and Albel! Now the old man was going to pester her daily to ask if she was pregnant yet.

Before another thought could cross her mind, she was suddenly down on the ground with a heavy body hovering over her.

"You heard the maggot, let's get started," he smirked before kissing her again. In the end, she _did_ keep her promise to Clair, though Nel was sure that she meant to make him scream in _battle_.

* * *

When Albel and Nel arrived in Peterny, they parted ways so they could take care of some personal business before meeting the others. Nel needed to get some new clothes (thanks to Albel) and had to sneak around in the cloak he had brought with him. Albel went straight to the workshop to repair his claw and engrave the rune back on it. 

Fortunately for Nel, she met Clair near the inn and she had a change of clothes available for her. Her friend instantly knew that she was hiding tattered clothes and dragged her off to a room where she could change. It was a long green sleeveless Greeton style dress with gold clasps on the sides. The ends of the skirt reached to her ankles and the slits on each side reached mid thigh. When she was done dressing, the grey haired woman produced some nice sandals that went with the outfit to replace her leggings and boots.

"I figured that you would need this since you went without your Valkyrie Garb," Clair explained as she gathered Nel's damaged uniform.

"Thank you…but why a dress?"

"It wouldn't hurt you to look nice for the queen…or for Albel."

"W-what? Don't tell me Adray-"

"Has been bragging about you two to everyone except the queen and Lasselle," she finished for her, "Now he won't rest until I have a husband."

"I'm so sorry…" Nel apologized knowing that her father could be relentless when it came to accomplishing goals.

"Personally I blame Cliff for this. He's the one who told my father about you and Albel… We should make him pay for his actions," the Aquarian commander said with the look of vengeance across her eyes.

"I agree…"

The Double Edge of the Crimson Blade plotted ways to get back at Cliff as they headed down to the lobby to sit at the tables. It wasn't long before the conversation shifted to why Albel called her out earlier. Nel told Clair about the Bellare and that she lost, but didn't go into much detail over how it happened or what happened afterwards.

"You do realize that he now has control over you?" Clair said in a worried tone that her red haired friend only shrugged off.

"I'm pretty sure he's going to treat me like he always does, but now he will …well…" she cut off with a blush.

"But he may not tolerate your stubborn nature."

"Believe me, he'll encourage me to fight back. I think he likes me _because _I argue with him," Nel reassured.

Before another word could be said, someone entered the inn's lobby and headed straight for them.

"So this is where you are," Albel muttered as he grabbed Nel's arm and helped her out of her seat, "The maggots are here, let's get this over with."

"Ow! Okay! You don't need to yank my arm off!" she sneered as Clair giggled.

He glanced over at her friend and regarded her with a slight nod and a "…Worm."

"The least you could do is call her by her real name!" Nel hissed as she pinched his good arm.

"That's okay, I'm used to it. Well I should go too and make sure my father isn't doing anything…stupid. Bye fool," she then turned to Albel and decided to end the conversation with the name both she and Nel picked out for him, "…And I'm sure I'll be seeing you around more often …imbecile."

"What did you call me?" he roared as she left, but Nel held him back before he could attack her.

"It's only fair since you called her a worm!"

"She _is_ a worm!"

"And you're an imbecile!" she retorted, earning a growl from him. Soon the irritated look melted away into an appreciative one as he noticed what she was wearing…more precisely, how form fitting the dress was and how high the slits reached.

"Like what you see?" she grinned when she realized what he was staring at. He didn't say anything, he only leaned down to briefly kiss her before pulling her outside.

"Come on, let's get this over with so I can _really_ appreciate that dress." She shuddered at his words as she allowed him to guide her to the town square. Many people were shocked to say the least when they saw the famous Crimson Blade, Nel Zelpher, and the notorious Albel the Wicked walking down the slightly crowed streets towards the square. It was a rare sight to see Lady Nel in a dress let alone Lord Albel letting _anyone_ be that close to him-he even had his claw resting gently around her waist!

Many people, including the ignorant war supporters thought that they hated each other, but seeing them looking like they were on a date really blew their minds. Not one of them was angry at the display, only stunned and confused. Protestors from both sides (the majority of which was the youth from teenaged years to the early 20s) thought that their role models were on their side when it came to continuing the war (Glyphian belief) or to continue their distrust towards the other side (Aquarian belief).

Nel felt nervous from all the stares, but didn't show it. It wasn't really that big a deal was it? She knew it would be somewhat of a shock, but didn't think that jaws would be hanging open or people freezing in place like stone statues. Eventually Albel had enough of this and let out a deadly glare that quickly brought the merchants and shoppers back to their senses. They even cleared a path for them.

"Well, if this isn't a sight for sore eyes! Glou and Nevelle's only children actually enjoying each other's company," an elderly voice called out from behind them. Albel closed his eyes as quiet rage swept though his features. Nel glanced over his shoulder to find Woltar approaching them with a knowing smile on his face.

"So I assume that you won the duel boy?"

"I told you that this is none of your business old man!" he yelled as the ancient swordsman circled them and faced them.

"I am certain that if both of your fathers were alive today they would approve of this. I am very proud of the two of you for looking past the hatred of your countries and finding one another," he paused to grab Nel's hand in his shaky wrinkled hands, "Please grant me this one request, Lady Nel: take good care of the boy for he is still somewhat of an overgrown child…"

"I will do my best, so you can rest your weary mind," Nel giggled as the man beside her glared daggers at the grandfatherly warrior.

"Don't you have other maggots you need to bore, old man?" Albel inquired in an annoyed tone when they reached their destination.

"Don't _you_ have other business to attend to? Like informing His Majesty of a certain ancient duel that he doesn't know that is in the law?"

"I need to go tell the queen of this as well, I will see you later, good bye Woltar," Nel said before she kissed Albel on the cheek and broke away from his light embrace.

"She is such a polite and well behaved woman…unlike a certain boy I know… She will make a fine wife for the likes of you," Woltar grinned as he limped away.

"Why must you ruin everything?" the Wicked One sighed to Woltar as he watched his woman go.

Nel was almost there, she could see Queen Romeria talking to Maria and Sophia with Lasselle off to the side, inspecting some food that was handed to him. The Aquarian spy secretly hoped that it was poisonous and that he'd eat it. Roger and Peppita were also nearby, bragging at how much more they grew than the other, though it was obvious that the Menodix was quite fond of the circus performer. Luckily for him, Peppita seemed to be warming up to the little creature so he may actually have a chance in winning her heart. A few feet away King Arzei was talking to Fayt, Mirage and …Nel could have sworn Cliff was over there too…

"I was thinking…" an all too familiar male voice started from behind her, "As Godfather to your and Albel's kids, I want special visiting privileges and the chance to take them out on the Diplo every once in a while. Also I want to name one of them-" Cliff stopped when he noticed the Albel-like sinister look on her face. She hadn't forgotten the mess he caused.

"Sca-ree," he commented as he backed away, "I'll get back to ya on that when you're off your period."

He then ran off to Mirage as she continued on to her destination. The queen soon noticed her most loyal subject and glanced at her as she bowed before her. Maria and Sophia stopped talking instantly and listened in to what Nel had to say.

"Your Majesty," she paused to take a breath, "Albel Nox challenged me to Bellare and I have lost. I am now his …possession."

"What?" Lasselle shouted as he dropped his snack, "That isn't possible! Lord Nox must be trying to break the truce… What insolence!"

"Silence Lasselle," the queen ordered before turning back to Nel with a small smile, "I am well aware of the conditions of the duel and I accept the results, but only under one condition: You must agree to marry him for the future peace treaty with Airyglyph."

"Your Majesty?" the royal advisor gasped, "Don't make her marry that barbarian, he only-"

Lasselle quickly caught the sharp menacing look from Romeria and shut his mouth. The queen knew for quite some time that Nel was smitten with the Black Brigade captain and had sent the material about Bellare to Woltar's library in hopes that Albel would find it. Now it seemed her plan was finally underway. She knew that Nel would still be a servant of Aquaria even if Albel decided that she should live in Airyglyph so she wasn't losing her valuable Crimson Blade soldier.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I accept your terms. …Thank you." Nel bowed again until the queen ordered her to arise.

She smiled as she left the queen to go search for Albel. She knew that he was going to be successful in his endeavor to get King Arzei's blessings. Both the ruling monarchs were waiting for something like this, especially the king because he wanted to try again to win Lady Elena's heart and be able to marry her without his kingdom going against him. Nel was still quite surprised that Albel had done all this research to keep his promise and was overall happy that he did…she was even willing to ignore the fact that Adray and Cliff were going to be constant pests. Though she couldn't figure out why Cliff wanted her to have kids when he could just get some of his own with Mirage… that is if he'd ever admit that he liked her more than just as his partner…

When she found Albel again, they stayed long enough to say hello to Fayt and the others and receive congratulations on their 'engagement' as the others chose to call it before he pulled her away to get a room at the inn. Night time quickly approached and soon the rest of the team decided to stay the night at the inn with promises to meet up in the morning to catch up on old times and help plan for Albel and Nel's future wedding.

The End

Well not really… there were some loose ends that still needed to be tied and Clair didn't like revenge served cold. In the late hours of the night, Tynave and Farleen waited in the hallway of the Peterny inn as the grey haired commander appeared.

"Tynave. Farleen. Have you completed your assignments?" Clair asked when she spotted Nel's subordinates.

"Yes ma'am! I have written the letter similar to her handwriting and slipped it under his door. He should be here in thirty minutes," Tynave replied before her violet haired comrade held up some clothes and a box.

"And I have the supplies!" she announced cheerfully. Neither girl knew what Clair was planning, and didn't question it since it seemed Nel was in on this too. But still, attacking the guy seemed a bit much.

"Good, I will be in the room preparing the restraints. Wait here for Nel."

"Yes ma'am!" they both replied before Clair went off to her task.

Meanwhile, upstairs in another room, Nel opened her eyes and carefully tried to get out of Albel's grasp without waking him. When she was done with that task, she tried to get out of bed only to have a metal hand grab her wrist.

"Where do you think you're going?" Albel mumbled tiredly as he opened one ruby colored eye.

"I'll be back soon, I'm just helping Clair out and getting revenge on someone," she responded as she used her free hand to light a candle with runology.

"Will that someone die?" he wondered with interest.

"No."

"Oh…hurry back when you're done then." He then rolled over so that his back was facing her and went back to sleep. He was only going to go with her if death of the victim was involved. Nel smiled down at him and then got dressed before sneaking out of the room to meet the others at the rendezvous point. Four Elicoorian women should be enough to take him down…

_Cliff,_

_Meet me in the hallway, near the lobby at 2:30. There is something we need to discuss._

_-Mirage_

Cliff headed downstairs with a yawn before re-reading the note. He had a hunch that something bad was going to happen, but decided to go anyway. He'd listen to anything Mirage had to say even if it was a challenge to a late night sparring match. …Then again, the Klausian mating season was coming up and maybe Mirage was in heat… That thought alone made him move his feet faster to the meeting place. After all, she _had_ been staring at him at least everyday so maybe she was thinking that he was a worthy mate for her. Too bad his thinking was way off…

When he arrived, the quartet immediately tackled him and began dragging him to the room Clair had prepared for him. They were easily able to put him in the restraints, but failed to close the door. Incidentally, Mirage just happened to be walking down the hall and was able to see her partner being strapped to a chair.

"What is going on here?" she demanded, causing the Elicoorians to stop and glance back at her. Clair cleared her throat and walked up to the doorway.

"Cliff has been meddling in affairs that don't concern him so we are going to punish him for it." Mirage paused to think back on all the times she had lectured him about this…

"_Cliff, you always stick your nose into other people's business without thinking of the consequences."_

"_You need to stop meddling otherwise you'll find yourself in trouble."_

"_Don't tell Adray that, you'd know he would give Nel and Clair grief if he knew about the relationship. …Plus, either Clair or Nel would kill you."_

The female Klausian raised an eyebrow as she looked into Cliff's pleading eyes. That look was clearly begging her to help him. …They wouldn't really kill him, would they?

"Oh, carry on then," Mirage replied in a gentle tone before walking off. After all, she _had_ warned him.

"M-Mirage? Come on, help me!" Cliff yelled, but lost all hope when Clair closed the door.

"Oh Mister Cliff!" Farleen called as she held up a pair of stiletto heels. Tynave had a particularly evil grin as she held up a small pink dress. There was no way that was going to fit him.

"Cliff," Nel started as she picked out some make-up from the box, "This is the price you pay for being a 'problem solver'."

_Now_ it's the end

* * *

Bellare is an ancient Roman word meaning 'to fight' so I thought that would be the best name for the duel Albel challenged Nel to. Because I viewed the people of Aquor as Amazons, I was hoping to find a similar word in Greek since Amazons were a part of Greek Mythology, but Bellare worked out pretty well anyway. Well I hope you enjoyed this fic and I'll be seeing you on the next update of Aquios High! 


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